1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of feeding different diets to at least two groups of pigs and preferably three groups of pigs, namely light, medium and heavy pigs. More particularly, the invention relates to the sorting of pigs into different feed courts based on a comparison of the detected weight of a pig passing through a walk-through scale and sorting gate with the weight set point of a pig weight growth curve for the particular date that the pig is passing through the walk-through scale and sorting gate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many prior art methods have been previously provided for feeding different diets to different groups of pigs so that a majority of the pigs will have approximately the same weight at the end of the finishing program for marketing purposes. A typical prior art method of feeding different diets to different groups of pigs is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,210,428 which issued on May 1, 2007. In the '428 Patent, the pigs pass through a walk-through scale and sorting gate and are sorted into different feed courts or areas depending on whether they are heavier or lighter than the value of calculated sorting weight using detected weights of the pigs during a predetermined previous time interval. To the best of Applicants' knowledge, in the '428 Patent, the pigs are sorted by weight without any consideration being given to the age of the pigs, the genetics of the pigs, or other considerations such as barn temperature. Further, it is not believed that the method of the '428 Patent takes into consideration a pig weight growth curve which sets forth weight set points for particular days during the finishing process.